A-level
BIOLOGY
7402/1
Paper 1
Mark scheme
, MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL BIOLOGY – 7402/1 – JUNE 2020
*206A7402/1/MS*
Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant
questions, by a panel o𝘧 subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the
standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in
this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’
responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way.
As preparation 𝘧or standardisation each associate analyses a number o𝘧 students’ scripts. Alternative
answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated 𝘧or. I𝘧, a𝘧ter the
standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are
required to re𝘧er these to the Lead Examiner.
It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases 𝘧urther developed and
expanded on the basis o𝘧 students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about 𝘧uture mark
schemes on the basis o𝘧 one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles o𝘧
assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content o𝘧 a particular examination
paper.
Copyright © 2020 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
Mark scheme instructions to examiners
1. General
The mark scheme 𝘧or each question shows:
• the marks available 𝘧or each part o𝘧 the question
• the total marks available 𝘧or the question
• the typical answer or answers which are oexpected
• extra oin𝘧ormation oto ohelp othe oexaminer omake ohis oor oher ojudgement oand ohelp oto
odelineate owhat ois oacceptable oor onot oworthy oo𝘧 ocredit oor, oin odiscursive oanswers, oto
ogive oan ooverview oo𝘧 othe oarea oin owhich oa omark oor omarks omay obe oawarded.
The oextra oin𝘧ormation oin othe o‘Comments’ ocolumn ois oaligned oto othe oappropriate oanswer
oin othe ole𝘧thand opart oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme oand oshould oonly obe oapplied oto othat oitem oin
othe omark oscheme.
At othe obeginning oo𝘧 oa opart oo𝘧 oa oquestion oa oreminder omay obe ogiven, o𝘧or oexample:
owhere oconsequential omarking oneeds oto obe oconsidered oin oa ocalculation; oor othe oanswer
omay obe oon othe odiagram oor oat oa odi𝘧𝘧erent oplace oon othe oscript.
In ogeneral othe oright-hand oside oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme ois othere oto oprovide othose oextra odetails
owhich ocon𝘧use othe omain opart oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme oyet omay obe ohelp𝘧ul oin oensuring othat
omarking ois ostraight𝘧orward oand oconsistent.
2. Emboldening
2.1 In oa olist oo𝘧 oacceptable oanswers owhere omore othan oone omark ois oavailable o‘any otwo
o𝘧rom’ ois oused, owith othe onumber oo𝘧 omarks oemboldened. oEach oo𝘧 othe o𝘧ollowing
obullet opoints ois oa opotential omark.
2.2 A obold oand ois oused oto oindicate othat oboth oparts oo𝘧 othe oanswer oare orequired
oto oaward othe omark.
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, MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL BIOLOGY – 7402/1 – JUNE 2020
2.3 Alternative oanswers oacceptable o𝘧or othe osame omark oare oindicated oby othe ouse oo𝘧
oOR. oDi𝘧𝘧erent oterms oin othe omark oscheme oare oshown oby oa o/ o; oeg oallow osmooth
o/ o𝘧ree omovement.
3. Marking opoints
3.1 Marking oo𝘧 olists
This oapplies oto oquestions orequiring oa oset onumber oo𝘧 oresponses, obut o𝘧or owhich
ostudents ohave oprovided oextra oresponses. oThe ogeneral oprinciple oto obe o𝘧ollowed oin
osuch oa osituation ois othat o‘right o+ owrong o= owrong’.
Each oerror o/ ocontradiction onegates oeach ocorrect oresponse. oSo, oi𝘧 othe onumber oo𝘧
oerrors o/ ocontradictions oequals oor oexceeds othe onumber oo𝘧 omarks oavailable o𝘧or othe
oquestion, ono omarks ocan obe oawarded.
However, oresponses oconsidered oto obe oneutral o(o𝘧ten opre𝘧aced oby o‘Ignore’ oin othe
o‘Comments’ ocolumn oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme) oare onot openalised.
3.2 Marking oprocedure o𝘧or ocalculations
Full omarks ocan obe ogiven o𝘧or oa ocorrect onumerical oanswer, owithout oany oworking oshown.
However, oi𝘧 othe oanswer ois oincorrect, omark(s) ocan ousually obe ogained oby ocorrect
osubstitution o/ oworking oand othis ois oshown oin othe o‘Comments’ ocolumn oor oby oeach
ostage oo𝘧 oa olonger ocalculation.
3.3 Interpretation oo𝘧 o‘it’
Answers ousing othe oword o‘it’ oshould obe ogiven ocredit oonly oi𝘧 oit ois oclear othat othe o‘it’
ore𝘧ers oto othe ocorrect osubject.
3.4 Errors ocarried o𝘧orward, oconsequential omarking oand oarithmetic oerrors
Allowances o𝘧or oerrors ocarried o𝘧orward oare omost olikely oto obe orestricted oto
ocalculation oquestions oand oshould obe oshown oby othe oabbreviation oECF oor
oconsequential oin othe omark oscheme.
An oarithmetic oerror oshould obe openalised o𝘧or oone omark oonly ounless ootherwise
oampli𝘧ied oin othe omark oscheme. oArithmetic oerrors omay oarise o𝘧rom oa oslip oin oa
ocalculation oor o𝘧rom oan oincorrect otrans𝘧er oo𝘧 oa onumerical ovalue o𝘧rom odata ogiven
oin oa oquestion.
3.5 Phonetic ospelling
The ophonetic ospelling oo𝘧 ocorrect oscienti𝘧ic oterminology oshould obe ocredited ounless
othere ois oa opossible ocon𝘧usion owith oanother otechnical oterm.
3.6 Brackets
(…..) oare oused oto oindicate oin𝘧ormation owhich ois onot oessential o𝘧or othe omark oto obe
oawarded obut ois oincluded oto ohelp othe oexaminer oidenti𝘧y othe osense oo𝘧 othe oanswer
orequired.
3.7 Ignore o/ oInsu𝘧𝘧icient o/ oDo onot oallow
Ignore oor oinsu𝘧𝘧icient ois oused owhen othe oin𝘧ormation ogiven ois oirrelevant oto othe
oquestion oor onot oenough oto ogain othe omarking opoint. oAny o𝘧urther ocorrect
oampli𝘧ication ocould ogain othe omarking opoint.
Do onot oallow omeans othat othis ois oa owrong oanswer owhich, oeven oi𝘧 othe ocorrect oanswer ois ogiven,
3
BIOLOGY
7402/1
Paper 1
Mark scheme
, MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL BIOLOGY – 7402/1 – JUNE 2020
*206A7402/1/MS*
Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant
questions, by a panel o𝘧 subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the
standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in
this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’
responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way.
As preparation 𝘧or standardisation each associate analyses a number o𝘧 students’ scripts. Alternative
answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated 𝘧or. I𝘧, a𝘧ter the
standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are
required to re𝘧er these to the Lead Examiner.
It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases 𝘧urther developed and
expanded on the basis o𝘧 students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about 𝘧uture mark
schemes on the basis o𝘧 one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles o𝘧
assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content o𝘧 a particular examination
paper.
Copyright © 2020 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
Mark scheme instructions to examiners
1. General
The mark scheme 𝘧or each question shows:
• the marks available 𝘧or each part o𝘧 the question
• the total marks available 𝘧or the question
• the typical answer or answers which are oexpected
• extra oin𝘧ormation oto ohelp othe oexaminer omake ohis oor oher ojudgement oand ohelp oto
odelineate owhat ois oacceptable oor onot oworthy oo𝘧 ocredit oor, oin odiscursive oanswers, oto
ogive oan ooverview oo𝘧 othe oarea oin owhich oa omark oor omarks omay obe oawarded.
The oextra oin𝘧ormation oin othe o‘Comments’ ocolumn ois oaligned oto othe oappropriate oanswer
oin othe ole𝘧thand opart oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme oand oshould oonly obe oapplied oto othat oitem oin
othe omark oscheme.
At othe obeginning oo𝘧 oa opart oo𝘧 oa oquestion oa oreminder omay obe ogiven, o𝘧or oexample:
owhere oconsequential omarking oneeds oto obe oconsidered oin oa ocalculation; oor othe oanswer
omay obe oon othe odiagram oor oat oa odi𝘧𝘧erent oplace oon othe oscript.
In ogeneral othe oright-hand oside oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme ois othere oto oprovide othose oextra odetails
owhich ocon𝘧use othe omain opart oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme oyet omay obe ohelp𝘧ul oin oensuring othat
omarking ois ostraight𝘧orward oand oconsistent.
2. Emboldening
2.1 In oa olist oo𝘧 oacceptable oanswers owhere omore othan oone omark ois oavailable o‘any otwo
o𝘧rom’ ois oused, owith othe onumber oo𝘧 omarks oemboldened. oEach oo𝘧 othe o𝘧ollowing
obullet opoints ois oa opotential omark.
2.2 A obold oand ois oused oto oindicate othat oboth oparts oo𝘧 othe oanswer oare orequired
oto oaward othe omark.
2
, MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL BIOLOGY – 7402/1 – JUNE 2020
2.3 Alternative oanswers oacceptable o𝘧or othe osame omark oare oindicated oby othe ouse oo𝘧
oOR. oDi𝘧𝘧erent oterms oin othe omark oscheme oare oshown oby oa o/ o; oeg oallow osmooth
o/ o𝘧ree omovement.
3. Marking opoints
3.1 Marking oo𝘧 olists
This oapplies oto oquestions orequiring oa oset onumber oo𝘧 oresponses, obut o𝘧or owhich
ostudents ohave oprovided oextra oresponses. oThe ogeneral oprinciple oto obe o𝘧ollowed oin
osuch oa osituation ois othat o‘right o+ owrong o= owrong’.
Each oerror o/ ocontradiction onegates oeach ocorrect oresponse. oSo, oi𝘧 othe onumber oo𝘧
oerrors o/ ocontradictions oequals oor oexceeds othe onumber oo𝘧 omarks oavailable o𝘧or othe
oquestion, ono omarks ocan obe oawarded.
However, oresponses oconsidered oto obe oneutral o(o𝘧ten opre𝘧aced oby o‘Ignore’ oin othe
o‘Comments’ ocolumn oo𝘧 othe omark oscheme) oare onot openalised.
3.2 Marking oprocedure o𝘧or ocalculations
Full omarks ocan obe ogiven o𝘧or oa ocorrect onumerical oanswer, owithout oany oworking oshown.
However, oi𝘧 othe oanswer ois oincorrect, omark(s) ocan ousually obe ogained oby ocorrect
osubstitution o/ oworking oand othis ois oshown oin othe o‘Comments’ ocolumn oor oby oeach
ostage oo𝘧 oa olonger ocalculation.
3.3 Interpretation oo𝘧 o‘it’
Answers ousing othe oword o‘it’ oshould obe ogiven ocredit oonly oi𝘧 oit ois oclear othat othe o‘it’
ore𝘧ers oto othe ocorrect osubject.
3.4 Errors ocarried o𝘧orward, oconsequential omarking oand oarithmetic oerrors
Allowances o𝘧or oerrors ocarried o𝘧orward oare omost olikely oto obe orestricted oto
ocalculation oquestions oand oshould obe oshown oby othe oabbreviation oECF oor
oconsequential oin othe omark oscheme.
An oarithmetic oerror oshould obe openalised o𝘧or oone omark oonly ounless ootherwise
oampli𝘧ied oin othe omark oscheme. oArithmetic oerrors omay oarise o𝘧rom oa oslip oin oa
ocalculation oor o𝘧rom oan oincorrect otrans𝘧er oo𝘧 oa onumerical ovalue o𝘧rom odata ogiven
oin oa oquestion.
3.5 Phonetic ospelling
The ophonetic ospelling oo𝘧 ocorrect oscienti𝘧ic oterminology oshould obe ocredited ounless
othere ois oa opossible ocon𝘧usion owith oanother otechnical oterm.
3.6 Brackets
(…..) oare oused oto oindicate oin𝘧ormation owhich ois onot oessential o𝘧or othe omark oto obe
oawarded obut ois oincluded oto ohelp othe oexaminer oidenti𝘧y othe osense oo𝘧 othe oanswer
orequired.
3.7 Ignore o/ oInsu𝘧𝘧icient o/ oDo onot oallow
Ignore oor oinsu𝘧𝘧icient ois oused owhen othe oin𝘧ormation ogiven ois oirrelevant oto othe
oquestion oor onot oenough oto ogain othe omarking opoint. oAny o𝘧urther ocorrect
oampli𝘧ication ocould ogain othe omarking opoint.
Do onot oallow omeans othat othis ois oa owrong oanswer owhich, oeven oi𝘧 othe ocorrect oanswer ois ogiven,
3
